The Atlantic Beach Fire Department arrived shortly after and took the victims to Carteret Health Care.

From Carteret Health Care, Eakes was then transferred to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, Atlantic Beach fire chief Adam Snyder said at the time.

He was at first listed in critical condition at Vidant, but later died.

At last check, the female victim was still at Carteret Health Care. She is expected to be okay.

Lifeguards are urging beachgoers to stay in supervised areas. Even so, Smith said, when the winds and rip currents are high, he believes getting in the water is not worth the risk.

“Days like today I would even consider not going in,” Smith said. “There is little creases where the waves cross where you suspect there is a rip current, so even if I was going to go in, I wouldn’t go very far. Sometimes not very far is too far.”

The rescue comes one day after a 56-year-old-man died near the Henderson Avenue public beach access in Atlantic Beach after suffering cardiac arrest and drowning while attempting to save two teenage girls from a rip current.

And there was another fatality the weekend before. On June 10, 17-year-old Elijah Hinnant of Goldsboro died after getting caught in a rip current in Emerald Isle. His body was spotted in the water by swimmers several days later.

“We are at about 20 to 25 rescues from … May 24 until today,” Snyder said. “Just this weekend in itself has been really bad because of the high surf conditions and the wind which is causing a significant pull on the rip currents.”

Red flags have been flying up and down the North Carolina coast since late last week, indicating rough surf that is creating dangerous rip currents.

“We urge people, if you are going to do this on a beach, grab anything, a body board, a cooler, whatever floats, take that with you to stabilize those people,” Snyder said. “When the fire department arrives on scene, they can come out and get you.”